Thursday, April 30, 2015

We Need a Nationwide St. Scholastica Day Riot

Whilst the media whips up racial hatred and division by focusing on Ferguson v. 3.0 Baltimore, I think we should focus on a different riot I learned through the History Extra Podcast - the St. Scholastica Day Riot.

Apparently, back in 1355 at Oxford two students went to a bar, had a disagreement with the bartender, and then assaulted him. After the mayor requested the university punish the students, which he refused to do, some students gathered and started rioting in the town assailing locals. People from the region ended up coming to town to exact revenge and did precisely that killing 63 scholars.

Of course, this would not happen today, but there are times given how both the students and staff of modern day academia act I would love nothing more than a St. Scholastica Day Riot of our own.

1 comment:

Medieval history student here, although I did it as a minor and I've continued on via self-study post-graduation.

Here's some additional fuel for the fire: the first universities were theological seminaries, and the students were technically clergy once they enrolled. This meant they had the protection of the church and the secular authorities because clergy were inviolate, assaulting one carried the penalty of excommunication.

Of course the university students knew this, and would deliberately start fights knowing that anyone who struck them would burn in hell.